Saturday 15th March
I didn't sleep a great deal during the night, the balmy heat being the main factor in keeping me awake. Despite a fan in the room, it was still quite stuffy, and I never managed to properly fall asleep. So, when my alarm went off at 07.00, I didn't feel like getting up and going to any temples, even if they were one of the wonders of the modern world! I tried to get some energy and had a plate of beans on toast (not a traditional dish in Cambodia) and checked out of the guesthouse. I dropped my bag at the 'Mandalay' and hired a bike, and from there I set off in the direction of Angkor.
It took about twenty minutes to cycle from the hotel to the ticket office. Tickets are valid for one, three or seven days, and I opted for a three-day pass, costing $40. It took another ten or fifteen minutes to cycle to the main entrance to the most celebrated of the temples, Angkor Wat. The place was packed with tourists and touts.
As soon as I pulled up to park my bike, about six or seven kids ran towards me, waving books, postcards and bottles of water in the air, shouting at me to grab my attention. They ranged in age from about six to eleven. I had heard that these kids make a living from selling stuff to tourists and they definitely had the sales patter down (their English was surprisingly good for their age and their likely backgrounds). One of the little girls offered to sell me a good quality guide to the temples for $14 and it seemed like good value to me. I had heard about the poverty in Cambodia, and felt like it would make a worthwhile contribution to some of the kids, and provide me with a useful guide to the monuments. The children were all very smiley and cheeky, and this made it all the more difficult for me not to say 'no' to them!
Angkor Wat holds a very important place in the historical and cultural identity of Cambodia and its people (for example, its image is on the national flag). On entering the vast complex, I could see many wedding parties of young guys and girls, having their pictures taken with the temple entrance providing a backdrop for their photos. The girls wore make-up so heavy that it would make a Derry girl raise a badly plucked eyebrow or two, while the guys wore white suits that hung off them like binliners.
The temple itself is very impressive, but it didn't have as big an impact on me as I was expecting. I had anticipated a similar feeling to the one I had experienced on that first glimpse of the Taj Mahal, but it just didn't happen. I enjoyed wandering about, looking at some of the intricate stone carvings that lined the walls (bas-refliefs, I believe they are called). The centre-point of the temple is a large tower with very steep stairs leading up to it, but these are undergoing renovation at the moment, and it was a pity not to climb these.
After an hour or so taking in Angkor Wat, I got on the bike and cycled to a temple called Ta Promh. Although the day was getting very hot, the bike ride was proving a very pleasant way to get about, and the distances turned out to be very manageable.
Ta Promh is one of the most popular temples for tourists to visit. Although it is much smaller than Angkor Wat, it is perhaps even more memorable due to the fact that it is more overgrown than the other temples. Nature has taken over since it was abandoned by its inhabitants almost a thousand years ago; it has been deliberately left that way by the conservationists who were responsible for once more opening up the temples of Angkor to the world. On entering the grounds, you can see large trees growing in unlikely places: through, over and on top of the stone buildings. Tree roots extend across walls and wrap themselves around the stonework like octopus tentacles, and some roots look like silver, solidified lava flows. Some of the trees rise out over the walls like brontasaurus, the long 'neck' extending skyward, with the 'legs' reaching down into the stoney earth. It really is an impressive and very unusual site. The image definitely creates the idea of a very ancient place. On a trivia note, it is such a cool sight that it served as the backdrop for one of the 'Tomb Raider' movies, and I could just imagine Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft bouncing along the walls.
At Ta Promh, I also bumped into Aussie Pete, who I had met at the hostel in Melaka in Malaysia two months before. He had arrived in Cambodia several days before and had been travelling with a Czech girl called Anna, and we chatted for a while before going our separate ways. We agreed to meet up back in town for some dinner that evening, and I left them happy that I had some company for the next few days.
I continued on my trip around Angkor, taking in some of the other temples: Ta Keo, Preah Khan and the Bayon. The softer light of the late afternoon had a fantastic affect on the stonework of the Bayon in particular, the faces that look out from this temple catching the light perfectly. It was definitely the time when the temples looked their most impressive.
I cycled back to town as it was getting dark, arriving back at the hotel at 17.00. I felt quite tired, but also glad to have had some decent exercise, particularly after having spent a very sedantary week or so in Luang Prabang. I met up with Pete and Anna for dinner and a few drinks and really enjoyed their company. We found a bar that was showing the United-Derby game and got chatting to a fellow United fan called Rory who lived in Manchester. He was in Siem Reap for a weeks training in a job he had just started for a landmide clearance company, before starting a permanent post in Angola.
Thankfully, United won the game, but it wasn't looking good for a while, Ronaldo scoring in 1-0 win. It had been a good laugh and so I headed back to the hotel to get some sleep. Although I could have done with a proper nights sleep, I was planning to get up at 04.30 to be able to get out to Angkor Wat in time to see the sunrise, having heard that it was worth the effort and the early start.
